Bitter and Sweet
by Nyx Necro
Summary: Everyone thinks that Erza is a very happy person but in the inside she is broken. Short Summary, hopefully a good story!
1. Meet Erza

Erza Belserion was a high school student that was in her third year as an Honor student. She had always done well in school. She was also the Head Girl of the Honor girl's dorm for her school, Fiore High School Academy. She didn't have any enemies but she had a few perfect friends that were in the same classes as her but not all of them were in the same dorm as she was.

If there was anything that Erza was ever jealous about her friends was some of them had amazing bonds with their parents. You see, Erza never knew her father and her mother, she ignored Erza not entirely as a dead beat mother, more of a mother that focused more on her job.

Erza recalled many times growing up that she would have good news such as straight A's from Elementary school to Middle school. Her mother didn't share much of excitement and would tell Erza that it's only natural to have such high grades because she expected them to be that way. Erza was rather hurt and wanted to leave home but couldn't. Words couldn't describe what Erza's joy was when she read about Fiore Academy about them having an Honors program and Honors Dorm. Erza was so excited that she registered herself without telling her mother and paid for her fees herself.

Erza was able to keep it a secret to herself, that was until her report card and a permission slip for an overseas trip came in the mail and her mother saw them. Words couldn't describe how scared Erza was to the point that she asked one of her closest friends to let her stay with them for the weekend to which they agreed to and went on the overseas trip when the weekend was over.

Now here she was in the third quarter of her junior year in high school. She was working on her homework but then stopped when she saw her friends Lucy and Mirajane coming to her.

"Hey Erza."

"Hey there."

Lucy smiled at her.

"Are you going to the Parent/ Student dinner this week?"

The Parent/Student dinner was a traditional dinner event for each class. Each quarter a class had a dinner with good food and drinks to serve. There were presentations and awards to give out. Erza never went for clear reasons but she thought either going for her junior or senior year. She smiled as she looked down.

"I'm still thinking about going."

Lucy pouted.

"Knowing you, you have the best grades out of everyone in our class so of course you have to go."

"But I don't want to go alone."

Lucy and Mira knew what Erza meant by that. True they never meat Erza's mother but judging by what they heard from Erza it was as if Erza's bond wasn't the best by any mark.

"Parents aren't really required. As long as you are in your class then it's fine."

Erza nodded then they both left her alone.

Erza finished her homework and looked at her clock. It was about 8:00. Her mother should be at home so then Erza got her phone and began to call.

After a couple rings she heard a voice.

"What is it? I'm still at work."

Erza was a little nervous.

"Hello Mother, I was calling to ask if you had plans on Friday night?"

"Only meetings."

"Will you come to my school for this event that taking place?"

"Is it a show?"

"No ma'am."

"Very well, I will think about it."

"Thank you, Mo-"

"That doesn't mean I said yes, Erza."

Erza nodded then her mother hung up.

Erza had a sad smile as she looked at the program.

'At least I have some hope this time.'

Erza got ready for bed then laid on her bed. There were times she wished for her mother to make time for her. She didn't care how she just wished for it. She longed for that bond to have with her mother like how her friends did with their parents. She felt so alone.

Tears streamed down her face then she went to sleep.

 **The next day**

The next day Erza sat alone at lunch depressed, from what her mother told her the night before.

As she was sitting there she looked up to see one of the dorm staff, Hilda coming to her.

"Ms. Hilda?"

Hilda sat next to Erza and looked at her.

"What's on your mind, Erza? You've been out of it all day."

Erza lowered her head.

"I called my mother the other day."

Hilda was aware of the strange bond that Erza had with her mother. In fact she first learned about this when all the students were moving in. She watched as Erza had moved herself in then after about a couple of months she checked on Erza only to find her silently crying in a corner.

Since then Hilda became the second mother, er, grandmother for Erza.

"So what did your mother tell you?"

"I asked her if she would come to the Parent/ Student dinner since I never asked before. I have some hope that she'll come but at the same time I have a huge feeling that she's not coming."

Hilda nodded then handed Erza a slice of Strawberry cake and Erza was happy to eat it as she blushed. Hilda smiled at the cuteness of Erza blushing while eating the cake.

"Well, I'm certain that you'll be fine at the dinner. You are getting a lot of awards this year."

Erza smiled as she nodded.

"I'm so happy."

Hilda stood up to leave but looked at Erza.

"Erza?"

"Yes ma'am?"

"I know that all you want to do is make your mother proud but for now just focus on making yourself proud."

Erza nodded.

"I will."

With that Hilda left and Erza finished her cake then went to her next class now with happy thoughts instead of sad ones.

'Thank you, Ms. Hilda.'

 **AN: THE BLOODY HELL! Who else was like 'WTF' at today's chapter 497?! Well I hope that this was a good introduction of Bitter and Sweet! Let me know what you all think and I will update soon!**

 **P.S.: Because of this week's chapter, I will delete ONLY ONE of my Irene Belserion fanfics. I'll delete any of them by the messages or reviews! Thank you!**


	2. The Dinner

A few days had went by and now the night of the Parent/Student dinner had come. Erza was dressed up and was greeting all of the guests that were coming. She was also happy to meet Lucy's mother and father Layla and Jude.

Erza smiled at all the guests that had showed but she couldn't help but feel jealous. It was like everyone else's parent made time for their child while her own mother wasn't there for her.

However she did her best not to show it.

As the dinner event continued Mirajane went to Erza, Erza noticed that she looked a bit worried about something.

"Mira, is something wrong?"

Mira looked at Erza.

"There's a woman outside wanting to see you."

Erza nodded then she left to go outside.

When she got outside her eyes widened when she saw a nice brand new black car with a man wearing a black suit standing next to it.

"Miss Erza."

"Neinhart."

Erza was a little nervous; Neinhart was the chauffer of her mother. If he was somewhere it was a very high chance that her mother was in the area.

Neinhart then opened the door and Erza saw her mother sitting in the car with her eyes closed and filing her nails.

"It took you long enough, Erza."

"Greetings, Mother."

Irene looked at her nails.

"I went inside already; you told me that this wasn't a show."

Erza knew that tone that her mother was using. She knew her mother was a busy woman so asking her to come out to school was a huge risk. However Erza never really asked her mother to do anything, in fact this was the first time Erza asked her mother to come to her school.

"It isn't a show; the program of tonight was an award ceremony along with a dinner."

Her mother looked at her.

"So you requested me to leave my job just to watch you get an award?"

Something inside of Erza was torn then her mother looked away.

"What a bore."

"Please forgive my foolish request, Mother. It won't happen again."

"You are forgiven and get in."

Erza wondered what it was that her mother wanted to speak to her about so she got in the car.

The car was sort of like a limo for business people so Erza was sitting, facing her mother who had put her filer away.

"I want to remind you not to ever call my work phone again. If you want to contact me, do it by email. I don't have time to waste with your pathetic requests."

Erza looked away then her mother crossed her legs and spoke.

"Erza, you need to grow up. Being at these little school events are such a waste of time. They're aren't going to help you in the future."

With that they arrived to the Honors Girl Dorm. Before Erza stepped out her mother looked at her.

"Erza."

Erza looked at her.

"Yes Mother?"

"Before you go I want you to sign this."

Erza went back into the car and signed a paper that her mother had told her to sign. After doing so Erza got out of the car and the drove away. After the car was gone Erza was in her dorm and went straight to her room.

When she got to her room she sat on her bed and tears streamed down her face.

Not long after that Mira came into the room and sat on the bed next to Erza.

"Erza…"

Erza looked at her then spoke.

"Mira, am I only wasting my time? Am I a horrible daughter?"

Mira saw that Erza was distraught and she hugged Erza to her to comfort her.

"There, there Erza. It's going to be alright. You're not a bad person and you are not wasting your time."

Erza looked at her.

"Then how come my mother isn't proud of me? It's like I can't make her proud of me for anything I do."

Mira stayed quiet. This was the first time she had seen Erza's mother and one would think that because of how nice Erza was the same would be for the mother. That was not the case, Erza's mother carried a strong vibe that wasn't a nice one.

"Mira?"

"Yes?"

"Will you stay tonight? I don't think I can handle being alone crying." 

"Sure thing."

With that both girls climbed into the bed and went to sleep.

For two weeks Erza had regretted for asking her mother for any favors but she was doing better since her friends cheered her up.

As Erza was doing her homework in the dorm and was had just finished she got onto her laptop and checked her email.

To her surprise she got a message from her mother. Erza wondered what it was then she opened the message and read it.

 **Erza,**

 **There is a luncheon at my work and I want you to come. I want you to be formally dressed. Neinhart will pick you up from your dorm at 11:00. Once you get to my work place I want you to come find me.**

 **Irene**

After reading the message Erza just looked away. There was no way she could see her mother but at the same time, she knew better than to pass anything that her mother expected of her to do. She then saw that she had another message but this one was from Lucy so she opened the message.

 _Hey Erza, I'm having a sleep over at my house. My father won't be home because he's going on a business trip tonight and my mother said I could have a few friends over since she has to go out of town as well. Let me know if your coming, I hope you can._

 _Your friend,_

 _Lucy._

That seemed to cheer Erza right up then she left out of her room to get some strawberry cake. She wondered what to wear to the luncheon but she knew that her mother would criticize her if she didn't wear something formal that pleased her enough.

"So Neinhart is going to get me right after school then."

Erza went to get her outfit for the luncheon then she got ready for bed and went to sleep.

'I hope tomorrow will be better.'

 **AN: There is another chapter completed! I hope that the story is so far to your liking and I will update soon! Thank you for reading!**


	3. The Luncheon

The next day after school Erza headed straight to her dorm to change into her dress that she had picked out for the formal luncheon. After she was ready she stepped out of her dorm and right on cue the black limo showed up and she got inside.

As they were on the road Erza was feeling a little nervous about going to see her mother at the luncheon. Well her mother invited her but at the same time she knew what reputation her mother had and she would never dream of ruining it for her mother.

She then got her cell phone out only to see that she got a text from Lucy.

 _Hey, are you going to be able to come this weekend?_

 _ **I have to ask my mother, but I do hope so.**_

 _Let me know then._

 _ **I will.**_

Erza put her phone on silent out of being polite then she looked out the window as she looked at all of the large buildings that were outside.

They soon arrived to a very large building and they went inside.

Neinhart looked at Erza.

"Miss Erza, I will take you straight to Lady Irene."

Erza nodded then followed Neinhart to the elevator. As they were in there Erza just thought about how her mother would feel about her dress. For Erza she knew how hard it was to keep her mother pleased.

They soon arrived to their floor and they both went to the office that Irene was in.

When they got there Irene had motioned for Erza to enter the office and Erza did so. As Erza was in there she closed the door and Irene rose from her chair and went to her daughter.

"Greetings Mother, I thank you for the invitation."

Irene just looked at her daughter.

"You have come much earlier than I expected, come with me."

They both left to another part of the large building and when they arrived to where the luncheon was Erza was surprised to see how amazing it looked. She then blinked in concern when she saw Lucy's father, Jude at the luncheon.

'Lucy said he was going overseas for a business trip this morning.'

Erza followed her mother to meet with a couple of other guests that were there. Jude was interested to speak with Irene.

"Aw Lady Irene, the Scarlet Angel of the business. I take it that this is your daughter?"

Irene nodded.

"Yes, this is Erza."

Jude chuckled.

"Ah yes, I do remember now. She was greeting all the parents at the pathetic dinner."

Erza was puzzeled but her mother seemed to have agreed with him.

"I showed up but I didn't like what I saw so I left."

"If they really wanted to impress us rich business owner parents then they should have taken that award dinner in a better place."

Irene glanced at Erza to see that she was looking away then she looked back at Jude.

"Excuse me."

Irene grabbed Erza's wrist and pulled her to the side away from the crowd.

"Erza, where are your manners?"

"I'm sorry, Mother. It's just that the Award dinner was to show parents what their children have gained just like how your job gives promotions."

Irene narrowed her eyes at her daughter.

"Don't compare my high paid job with your childish games."

Erza was hurt then she nodded.

"Good, now don't embarrass me like that again. Let's get something to eat."

They both got food and had lunch, well a quiet one for Erza while her mother chatted with others who were trying to talk her into making a contract with her.

When the luncheon was over Erza and her mother were in the car and left the building.

As they were on the road Irene had opened a bottle of red wine and poured herself a glass then she looked at Erza.

"Now tell me Erza, what did you think of the luncheon. Surely you saw that it was a higher class compared to the award dinner you were at."

Erza clenched her dress then Irene took a sip out of her drink.

"Mother, a friend of mine wanted me to come over to her house this weekend. May I go?"

"No, you'll be staying home this weekend. You need to be reminded of who you are."

Erza nodded then looked out the window.

They soon arrived to a large neighborhood that was made for rich families. When they got to one of the houses Irene and Erza both went inside.

That evening after a silent dinner Irene sat in the living room on the couch and she watched as Erza had came out of the kitchen then looked at her.

"Yes, Mother?"

Irene patted the seat next to her then Erza came and sat next to her.

"What is it, Erza? Something is distracting you?"

"Why did you bring me here? It's clear that you don't want me here."

"That's not true."

"Then why did you embarrass me at the luncheon and talk down to me when you came to my school?"

"I told you, the luncheon was of greater class and as for you to contact me, I told you to do it by email."

"You didn't say why."

"I have to keep my work phone open. So you will making it somewhat easier for me if you just emailed me."

Erza stood up.

"Unbelievable."

Irene looked at her then pulled Erza's head down to her lap. At first Erza squirmed but her mother had a firm grip on her.

"Why are you trying to run off, Erza?"

Erza broke free and student up.

"I'm going to my room."

"What for? You don't have work right now."

Erza frowned as she looked away.

"You can't really think I want to be held by you after all of those insults."

"Would you rather I didn't talk at all?"

Erza looked at her.

"You stopped talking to me since Middle school! Whenever you do talk to me it's either an insult or a command for me to go somewhere."

With that Erza left and Irene just frowned at the way Erza had brushed her off. She got off the couch and left upstairs to her room.

 **AN: Alright there is another chapter! Thank you all for reading and I will update soon!**


	4. The Accident

The next morning Irene was in the kitchen making breakfast then she looked behind her to see Erza coming to her.

"Morning, Mother."

"Hello, Erza."

Irene brought the food to the table and they both sat down to eat.

As they were eating Irene noticed how quiet Erza was being.

"The food must be very good for you not to talk."

Erza looked at her.

"It is."

"Alright then."

Erza looked nervous then spoke.

"Mother?"

"What is it?"

"I was wondering if you would teach me how to drive."

"No."

"May I ask why?"

Her mother took a sip of her hot tea then closed her eyes.

"We have chauffeurs for a reason. We are of high class so we don't need to learn such."

Erza frowned.

"What if I wanted to take a vacation or even travel alone."

"That's what having a private plane is for."

Erza looked away.

"Is something that you could teach me that's not about your job for once?"

Irene frowned as she looked at her daughter.

"Watch your tone, Erza. It's because of my job that you got to live a luxurious life which isn't something so easy to have."

Erza got up and turned to leave the table.

"I lost my appetite."

Irene looked at her.

"Get ready. You will join me in my errands today."

Erza left to her room and Irene went back to eating her breakfast.

"What a pity."

Neinhart came to her.

"Lady Irene."

She closed her eyes.

"Get the car ready."

"Yes ma'am."

Not long after that they left the house and were driving through the town. Erza just looked out the window and Irene looked at her.

"Erza, soon you'll be of age where you can make your own choices and live as you please. However, until that day comes you are to follow my words." 

Erza pulled out her phone and saw that she had a message from Lucy.

 _Hey, where are you?_

 _ **Hey, I'm sorry. My mother dragged me to her job and didn't want me to come over.**_

 _I see. Your mother is the Scarlet Angel right?_

 _ **To others yes but to me the Scarlet Despair**_

 _Now Erza, be nice._

 _ **I can't tell you right now but I will tell you everything tomorrow at lunch.**_

 _Alright then, see you then._

 _ **Bye.**_

Erza put her phone away then Irene looked at her.

"Erza?"

"Yes Mother?"

"Why didn't you let me hold you last night?"

Erza lowered her head.

"Why would I?"

"I am your mother after all, don't mothers hold their daughters?"

Erza looked at her.

"Not when their daughters had enough of their insults. Besides how can you call yourself a mother when you chose your job over me since I was in elementary school?"

Irene just looked at her then Erza went on.

"Ever since you got that job you stopped paying attention to me. If you didn't want to have children so bad then why did you have me?"

"Do you really hate me that much?"

Erza frowned as she looked out the window.

"No I don't. It's me being selfish, that place is your dream job."

Irene just gave a nod then pushed the button.

"Neinhart, change of course. Go to the Heartfillia Estate."

Erza blinked then looked at her mother then the car made a turn.

"Mother…."

"You have every right to be selfish right now. Go ahead and be with your friend."

Not long after that they arrived at the Heartfillia Estate and Erza went inside. The car left and went elsewhere.

Irene just sat in silence as she looked out the window.

"I had no idea that Erza felt this way. I have my view of being a mother."

 **With Erza and Lucy**

Erza was playing with Wendy, Lucy and Mirajane. As they were playing Lucy looked at Erza.

"What made your mother change her mind about you coming?"

Erza smiled.

"I'm not sure."

They went on playing through the sleepover for the rest of the night.

 **A week later**

Irene was sitting in the car with Neinhart driving.

"Lady Irene, you look troubled."

"Part of me is angry at both myself and at Erza."

"…."

"I don't blame Erza for being selfish but at the same time she knows that where I work is my dream job. Not everyone can do such. She can such a pain not to mention how she embarrassed me at the luncheon."

"…."

"Ever since she left for that academy she became more resentful to me. Maybe I should take her out of the school. It's not she can learn much with their standards anyway."

"Lady Irene, if you do that Lady Erza would really resent you."

Irene waved it off.

"No, it can be a new start."

 **With Erza**

Erza was in class and she was taking a test but she couldn't help but have an uneasy feeling. She wasn't nervous about the test but rather it was something else.

She then glanced up when she saw the teacher step out of the room.

When Erza was done with the test she left to go to lunch. As she was outside having lunch she checked her phone only to see that there was a major change.

She saw that her mother had called her a few times then she called back.

"Hello?"

"Lady Erza, it's Neinhart."

Erza was concerned when she heard how frantic he sounded.

"Neinhart, what's going on?"

"You need to get to the Rosemary Hospital now."

"What is it? What happened?"

"Lady Irene…she's…"

That was all Erza needed to hear then she left her school to rush to the hospital.

When Erza arrived to the hospital she saw Neinhart and went to him.

"What happened?"

"It was a major accident. One drunk driver and two others that were racing. They crashed into our car and we were rushed here."

Just then they saw the doctor come to them.

"Doctor how is she?"

The doctor looked at them.

"She suffered a few broken ribs, a fractured leg. She's stable but we're not sure how long it will be until she wakes up."

Erza nodded.

"May we see her?"

"Yes."

They went to the room that Irene was in and Erza saw her mother laying in the bed passed out. Erza went to her and looked at her.

'Mother….'

Erza sat on a chair and held her mother's hand.

'You need me right now.'

 **AN: Alright there is another chapter completed! Thank you all for reading and I will update soon.**


	5. The Crash

A few days had went by and Erza had called her Dean to inform her that her mother in such bad conditions so she was going to take care of her.

From time to time the doctor will tell Erza updates about her mother's condition but Erza was surprised to be informed that her mother's memory would be slightly affected from the crash but there was a chance that she would remember everything. Her mother was going to have a little trouble walking so she had to avoid stair for at least a couple of weeks.

For most part Irene was still passed out but she would mumble but she never woke up.

As Erza sat in the chair next to her mother's hospital bed she held her hand.

"My daughter…"

Erza blinked then looked at her mother who was mumbling.

"Mother?"

"….tell Erza….I'm sorry…."

Erza placed a free hand on her mother's shoulder.

"Mother, I'm right here."

Irene opened her eyes and turned her head.

"…Erza….I…"

"It's okay Mother, you're safe now."

Irene winced in pain then the doctor came into the room.

"Hello there, I see that your mother is awake."

Irene watched as the doctor checked her pulse then the doctor looked at Erza.

"May I speak to you?"

"Um sure."

They both left out of the room and closed the door.

"Is something wrong, Doctor?"

"Your mother is a very lucky woman right now."

"What do you mean?"

"She was the only one that got out of the major accident alive. The man who called you was a witness from a café' he was at and he saw the accident."

Erza's eyes widened and the doctor went on.

"Had that man not been there, your mother would have not survived."

Erza nodded then the doctor left and she went back to her mother.

"Erza? What did he say?'

"You were a lucky woman."

"What else?"

"That you were the only who survived that crash."

Irene nodded then she looked at Erza.

"Were you here every day since I've been here?"

Erza nodded then Irene looked away.

"Surely your school wants to know where you are."

"They know, and they are going to excuse everything while I'm taking care of you."

Irene looked at her.

"Taking care of me? But you have school."

"I can make it up later right now I need to be home taking care of you."

Irene was touched then she nodded.

 **A few days later**

Erza was helping her mother walk into their home. Irene was leaning on Erza as they were making their way.

"Mother, your body isn't ready for the stairs yet, so let's get you into the guest room."

Irene nodded and they went to the guest room which was lovely. When they got there Erza carefully sat her mother down on the bed. She kneeled down to take her mother's boots off then she laid her mother in the bed.

"Thank you, Erza."

"You're welcome."

Erza carefully sat on the side of the bed and Irene looked at her.

"What's wrong?"

"I had an uneasy feeling that something happened to you then Neinhart called me."

"It's alright, Erza."

Erza had tear streaming down her face then she crawled into the bed and carefully hugged her mother.

"The doctor told me that you were the only one in the crash that survived."

Irene looked at her daughter then she rubbed her head.

"Stay in here with me tonight."

"I wasn't planning on leaving you alone."

Irene smiled then they stayed like that.

 **Dream**

Irene was in her personal car driving. She had on her seatbelt and wasn't on the phone. She was driving safe as anyone should.

Neinhart had the day off which was why she was driving her car.

"Let's see, what could I do to strengthen my bond with Erza. At this rate I can't really ask her to join me for anything at her school."

Irene frowned.

"She has really grown and some of her choices even impressed me. I still can't get over the fact that she enrolled herself at that school."

She then looked to her left and saw that it was safe to go then she drove out. The next thing she knew was someone had crashed into her car. Soon two more crashes were heard.

'What happened? I can't move…..'

Screams from outside could be heard.

"FIRE! SOMEONE CALL FOR HELP!"

'What's going on…..'

"Lady Irene!"

'Neinhart….but he's….'

Irene felt the seat belt being taken off her and someone grabbing her arm to pull her out of the car. She soon felt someone laying her down and other people were talking.

"She's still breathing!"

"Help is on the way."

"Just hold on Lady Irene, I'm calling Lady Erza right now."

'Erza….'

 **Dream end**

Irene opened her eyes only to see that it was still dark. She looked down to see that Erza was still sleeping then she rubbed Erza's head.

"I'm safe and home now."

She hugged Erza closer to her then she smiled to herself.

"This isn't the first time that something like this happened."

Irene used her other hand to brush some of Erza's hair from her face to look at Erza's right eyes. She gently rubbed her thumb under it then Erza opened her eyes.

"Mother, is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong."

"Am I too heavy?"

"No."

Erza nodded then closed her eyes to go back to sleep then Irene wrapped both arms around Erza then closed her eyes to go back to sleep.

'You're never too heavy for me, Erza.'

 **AN: Alright there is another chapter completed! Thank you for reading and let me know what you think! I will update soon!**


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